Photo courtesy Lisa Murphy The Mobility Project not only provides wheelchairs but also a variety of mobility devices to developing countries. Here, a child in Afghanistan receives a walker.
While in Afghanistan in 2002, Lisa Murphy was approached by a 10-year-old boy dragging his mother behind him on a board. The boy's mother cradled an infant in her arms as she laid there helpless. She appeared to have multiple sclerosis, although Murphy couldn't be sure.
The boy came to Murphy because he had heard she was distributing free wheelchairs. Murphy and her companions promptly fitted the woman to a wheelchair and trained her to use it. They also gave the family food and clothing.
Murphy still remembers how proud the boy was as he wheeled his mother away. Experiences like these are life-changing, said Murphy, and she has nearly a decade of them.
Murphy is president and CEO of The Mobility Project, a nonprofit humanitarian organization located in Bremerton that refurbishes used and discarded wheelchairs and delivers them to disabled people in developing countries.
In addition to Afghanistan, the organization has distributed chairs in Thailand, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan and Costa Rica, to name a few. In many of these countries, the people helped by The Mobility Project have never seen a wheelchair or even know that wheelchairs exist.
Often joining Murphy on these trips is her husband, Jeff, a wheelchair seating and positioning specialist for more than 17 years. Jeff Murphy is part owner of Sound Mobility, a wheelchair distributorship based in Bremerton, and also serves on The Mobility Project's board of directors.
With just two other staff members, Lisa and Jeff Murphy distribute anywhere from 400 to 1,500 wheelchairs a year. They also make return trips to previous locations to make any necessary repairs — such as replacing wheels or seat cushions — on wheelchairs they've donated.
At the Bremerton warehouse, The Mobility Project takes in wheelchairs and parts as well as walkers, crutches and other mobility devices. At any given time, there might be as many as 200 wheelchairs undergoing repairs.
"We actually have the chance to take our garbage and turn it into gold for someone else," said Murphy.
The Mobility Project next month will make a return trip to Thailand, thanks to the generosity of the Poulsbo/North Kitsap Rotary Club. The Rotary has supported the organization for many years, Murphy said, but this year pulled out the stops to help underwrite the Thailand trip.
Through private donations and a matching grant from Rotary International, the local Rotary donated $37,000 to the project.
Rotary is providing The Mobility Project with physical assistance as well. A handful of Rotarians will be accompanying Murphy to Pattaya, Thailand, to help fit disabled individuals to their wheelchairs and provide training on how to use them.
Both groups will be met by the Thailand Rotary, which will help them distribute 200 wheelchairs, including sports and pediatric wheelchairs, which were shipped to Thailand last month.
Part of the 20-day project in Thailand will involve setting up a sports camp to teach individuals how to play games such as tennis and basketball from their chairs. The Mobility Project is the only wheelchair organization in the United States to provide sports chairs and training to disabled people in other countries.
Gayle Heller, international director for the local Rotary Club, is among those who will be making the Thailand trip. Heller recently moved to Poulsbo from Sequim specifically because she wanted to be part of the service-oriented Poulsbo Rotary.
"There are four or five of us going and paying our own way," Heller said. "I'm excited."
If Heller is like volunteers in the past, the trip to Thailand won't be her last. Murphy noted that she receives calls all the time from people who have accompanied her on past humanitarian missions and want to sign up for another go-round.
They say they need a "reality check," says Murphy.
At the helm of the organization, Murphy spends a lot of her time recruiting help from churches, civic organizations and other groups. She can't promise volunteers any luxuries on their trips abroad, but she can guarantee them a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"We always say we feel selfish," said Murphy, "because it's so rewarding to pick people off the ground and give them the dignity and freedom and independence that they so deserve."
Help The Mobility Project:
The Mobility Project is in constant need of donations. Every $150 can seat one person in a wheelchair. Every $200 can help refurbish 10 wheelchairs. Every $3,000 can send one shipping container to Mexico. To make a financial donation or to volunteer to help, contact the organization at 692-6122 or e-mail info@mobilityproject.org.
Author:Tammy Adamson-McMullen
For the Kitsap Sun
Friday, November 23, 2007
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